What To Do with a Piece of Lovely Lace?

February 11, 2014

We invited Amber Eden, editor of Stitch, to tell us how she uses lace in her projects.

I love to collect lace, both new and vintage, but it’s not always easy to come up with a way to use it. I have stacks of lace in my sewing studio that are there for nothing more than good looks. But every once in a while a piece of lace comes along that demands to be put to use.

I was shopping at Mood Fabrics in New York City recently, and they have some extraordinary lace decorated with amazing beading. The particular piece of lace that I settled on was gorgeously saturated with embellishment.

While I couldn’t afford more than a ½ yard of the stuff (it came in at a pricey $150/yard), I just had to have it. But what to do with it?

At first I considered using it as some sort of overlay for a ready-to-wear garment, or cutting out motifs and using them as an appliqué, but it seemed a shame to make even one snip into this beauty.

I laid it out on the table and pondered the issue. That’s when I noticed that I had a piece that was 18 x 60 inches, the perfect dimensions for a stunning evening wrap. The scalloped ends were already finished, so I only had to do a tiny rolled hem along the sides and, voila, a beautifully unique wrap.

I am so happy to report that this is one piece of lace that will be put to very good use.